Activity after open heart...how long until...

[CHDDoug]

Hello everyone. I'm going in for my Ross on Feb 12th...being performed by Dr. William Ryan. I'm just curious as to how long it took some of you to start some activities post surgery. By activities, I mean...jogging, lifting weights, playing golf, manual labor (I own a part-time business where I resurface concrete - hand and knees manual labor). I'm just trying to get a feel for how long I'll be down-and-out. Any feedback or experiences is much appreciated.

Thanks and make it a great day!
Doug

 

[Cooker]

Doug,

I don?t jog or lift weights but I started back at the driving range somewhere around 4 weeks. My cardio did not approve. I played the first full 18 holes ant a bout 7 weeks. I did not "let er rip" until about 10 weeks.

Everyone is different. I pushed to hard and paid a small price but paid none the less. Your body will tell you when. If I had it to do over again I would probably take it it a bit slower. Best of luck. It will all come back but pushing too hard can delay a full recovery.

 

[Bad Mad]

My op was 6 weeks ago today.I intend to go to the gym tomorrow to do some
light cardio stuff...Cross Trainer, bike, maybe a few very light weights.

Don't think I'll bother pushing the running/impact stuff yet, as the sterum just wouldn't be stable enough for me to feel comfortable.

After my 1st open heart surgery I was back playing my sport competitively exactly 11 weeks later....so I was more than likely lifting weights then or soon after...although I do remember that I wasn't benching too much for a good while. (Gaelic Football - High intensity with alot of bodily contact - very like Aussie Rules).

That said, I could have paid a small price for my eagerness (like cooker said).
Luckily, then I didn't. Listen to what you body tells you

 

[Magic8Ball]

I went back to work in IT doing a desk job after 12 weeks and it nearly wiped me out for the first 3 weeks.

The question is, did it wipe me out because of surgery or did it wipe me out because i'd been sitting around doing very little for 12 weeks...million dollar question...

I didn't do anything considered strenuous for 6 months and am only now after a year starting to push things.

this is not because i couldn't have done it earlier but because i chose not to do it any sooner.

My take on it, if you repaired a tear in a hosepipe with tape you wouln't turn it on full blast until you were comfortable the repair had taken.....

If you work in this field and are naturally fit you will probably recover much quicker physically than a desk jockey like myself did so just listen to your body.

The only thing to remember is don't push it too soon, i'd say 6 weeks should be your minimum to be 'back at work' doing the phone stuff and costing jobs etc but probably 8+ before you are crawling around on your knees..


Just re-read that you are having a ross, not sure my experience will reflect your procedure...hopefully some ross's will post with some useful info....

 

[MaryC]

Doug,
I started out with cardiac rehab. They taylor your program to what you need. There were quite a few men in my class that they worked with on lifting to prepare them for going back to physical jobs. The main exercise was treadmill, bicycle, arm machines.

 

[BackDoc]

my surgery was 12/12/07. I exercised up to two days before surgery. I was walking from day one following surgery. I was doing things around the house the first week I was home--nothing involving lifting, pushing or pulling.

I was back in my office seeing patients on a part-time basis 3 weeks later.

Everyone is different, but I believe if you were active before surgery, and get walking into your post-surgical routine right away, your recovery will be easier.

The important thing is to allow your sternum to heal. If you don't your sternum will not fuse properly.

 

[Philip B]

Post-op activities

Post-op activities

As noted in previous posts, the recovery stuff related to exercise varies among individuals. Walking is the pretty standard exercise recommended immediately following surgery. It is also typical for doctors to recommend waiting around six weeks before engaging in formal rehab programs.

Like others, I walked laps around the ICU following surgery. I also walked a lot after returning home. My cardio doc dropped me into a formal rehab program two weeks post-op. This was not the norm, but he wanted to make sure I didn't over do the exercise thing.

If I remember correctly, I returned to hitting golf balls at six weeks, and played my first round at eight weeks. I played almost every day during the summer and walked using a pull cart on all but one round.

I was bicycling at eight weeks post-op.

The recovery stuff really does vary from individual to individual and it's important not to get into a big rush and do more than you can handle. I'm one of those cases where recovery stuff seemed to go pretty quickly. I only took six days off of work for OHS.

Set reasonable post-op goals for yourself. Don't over do things.

-Philip

 

[CHDDoug]

Thanks...

Thanks...

Thanks to everyone for the feedback so far. Certainly helps give me a gauge for what I'll be looking at for recovery time. I know everyone is different, but I figured if I get enough responses, I could have a best and worst case scenario and then average from there.

Take care,
Doug

 

[Jim P]

I'm going to agree with MaryC -- start with cardiac rehab under controlled conditions and see how you do. Sternum healing takes about 6 weeks on average. I would not do anything strenuous to threaten that part of recovery. From then on, it is standard with an exercise regimen -- start slow/light and work yourself up. The majority of people with whom I have spoken said that it took them about 6 months to feel close to normal and about a year before they are back to excellent condition. Some are faster and some are slower -- it may depend on what kind of shape you were in before surgery.

 

[Phyllis]

Put you on the calendar, Doug and wish you the best.

 

[sknydave]

My surgeon told me I could do anything I wanted to after 8 weeks.

 

[Soilman]

Doug

I too, am very active but about 10 years older. I run, lift and ride bike some and have a phyically demanding job also. I think my cardio allowed me to do some "light" running at 6 weeks. I didn't get the "all clear" to "do whatever I want" until 3 months. This included weight lifting and full duty at work. This was mainly to protect the sternum. In the meantime, I expect there is a four letter word describing your activity level...WALK, WALK, WALK!

I'm over 5 months out now and aside from very heavy lifting, I'm doing whatever I want. I'm still not quite back (an may not ever attain it) to where I was with my running and have changed over to using ligher weight and higher reps in lifting. I had an exceptional recovery and attribute it to lots of prayers on my behalf and being in good shape before hand.

Good luck and God-speed

 

[Susan BAV]

Doug, it's so hard to say!

This, from a girl though: When I got off of all of my meds at about three months post-op, I took on an enormous and lengthy special faux-finish painting project in my house--several coats of paint and lots of special taping and huge rooms and tall ceilings and a really tall ladder that I had to constantly move around back and forth. That went really well for me. I was very pleased... but concrete finishing it wasn't...

But at some point, perhaps around the same time as the huge painting project, I was out sawing some branches off of some trees out in our grove and I damaged something in my lower ribs and sternum and I think I set off a costochondritis episode that has taken these few years to completely recover from. I had lots of pain with that.

Here at 4 1/2 years post-op, I can lift heavy cases of water with no trouble; but a couple of years ago it still bothered my creaky sternum.

So not only is everyone a bit different, but you may find some activities more comfortable than other somewhat similar activities.

Take care and keep posting.

 

[doberman]

Hi, alot of different experiences, I went back too soon. I think the key is everyone is different and there is no way of knowing when you will feel right, hope for the best and plan for the worst... Less than 3 weeks after my OHS I was on a plane for Vegas for a meeting, went back to work part time after that. Can not say I enjoyed it couldn't carry my own brief case dopey of me really.... No sports till I was off the blood thinners, can't remember was it 60 days?... enjoy your down time you will back at the grind before you know it... easy for me to say but if you are the kind of person that can relax I think that is the best therapy.
Best wishes,
John

 

[67walkon]

Doug, with the condition you are probably in, you'll be back quickly.

I was 57 when I had surgery. The day before, I road my bike 14 or 15 miles. The day after surgery, I took a few tentative steps.

At 6 weeks, I started some light gym work, just on my legs. At 8 weeks, I started riding the bike and doing light upper body gym work. I went back to work, albeit a desk job, at 4 weeks; the first day back, I went home at about 2:30, but after that I just worked normal hours with no issues.

I'm pretty much back as far as being able to push myself on the bike or playing a little old man basketball. I did start jogging a little bit at about 3 weeks, but it wasn't pretty. It felt great for about 20 feet and then it started to feel like you had run too far. But after the 8 weeks were up, it was just a question of building endurance back up. You'll do great.

John

 

[sknydave]

Yep, right at 8 weeks it was almost as if someone flipped a switch. I felt 100x better and could tolerate much more activity.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Ask your Surgeon for his guidelines.

MY understanding is that at 6 weeks the sternum is healed to 85% of it's normal strength and that it takes 12 weeks to reach 100%. Again, ask your Surgeon to be sure.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[smyrnaflyer]

I, too, went back too early. I felt good after 2 weeks and started to work "part time". Unfortunately, part time became full time too quickly, and I was still fighting fatigue 9 months later. The major issue in my book is if you can get back into it slowly. The issue is not how soon, but to ramp up slowly. I also didn't do any organized rehab and had a heart attack 5 years later! Now I'm doing rehab.